'Skindred'
Dead By April
Karnivool
Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
Thursday 1st October 2009
Review by Metal Mick 'the beard' Staley
This was my first meeting with Skindred and after previously seing them at Sonisphere, I was looking forward to this.
I was met by Jason their 6ft 7inch Tour Manager and thoroughly nice guy, who led me to the tour bus where I met the band, the results of which you can see on our podcast page.
After the interview I went through to the hall, which was far, far too small for such an occassion, which was my gut instinct as I know the Rescue Rooms well, so it was no suprise to find out the gig was sold out.
I think this would have sold out at the larger venue, Rock City next door, but Skindred had to make way for student night !! (bizzarre) anyway I digress.
Unfortunately I arrived in the hall to catch only one and a half songs of first support act, Karnivool this was enough though to make me want to see more of these guys from Oz, who apparently play stadium concerts in their homeland.
Dead By April were up next and gave us a gritty performance to warm us up nicely for Skindred, not that we needed any warming as we were packed in like sardines, which led to my camera steaming up whilst taking photos.
Now for Skindred without Benji Webbe on vocals, thes guys would probably be another band that drift into obscurity as he has it all.
His stage presence and vocaltalents are second to none, this guy can sing anything from reggae, soul and pure classic metal and during the show he does ! You get the impression from his persona and energy that he was born for this role.
I will be the first to admit that I was not a big fan, but as a live band, you will not find many better.
Dan Pugsley on bass gave a brave performance as he performed with a broken leg, lugging around his pot on stage. Mikey Demus on guitar was sublime with his mix of metal a ragga riffs.
Skindred as a live band are a force to be recond with and is probably why there tickets sell like hotcakes, this is a band that you need to put on your see before you die list, absolutely top drawer, I for one cant wait to see them again.
